Yikes. The main character, Geo, is serving a 5 year prison sentence for taking part in the murder of her best friend. Put through trial some 16 years after the murder, the novel takes you through clips of the past and current day. Lots of twists and turns that will make you shiver!

Jar of Hearts is told in the past and present with secondary characters readers will enjoy. The story is full of emotions, suspense, told with a brutal truth no one wants to face in the story.

This story is dark gritty and will not be for everyone but warning when you start reading you will not be able to stop. Everything you fear will be found in this book and more.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Minotaur Books for the advance copy of Jennifer Hillier Jar of Hearts.

Jar of Hearts is a fast-paced, grab you from page one thriller that kept me flipping pages long into the night. This is not a book you can start reading and easily put down. Everything was put on hold while I read this! This is my first introduction to Jennifer Hillier and I am impressed. I will be purchasing the rest of her books.

As someone who normally reads YA books (and middle grade with my kids) this was much different content. It's dark and twisted; like a train wreck that somehow satisfies you, in places you keep buried, to watch it unfold. I do hope the typos and slight plot hole in this ARC is corrected before it's sent out into the world, but otherwise it was a brilliant and properly deranged storyline. I've already recommended this book to everyone I know on social media. I will be posting a full review on my blog (and Goodreads and Amazon) next week when the book is released.

A big thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.
This is a surprising, chilling, emotional rollercoaster of a thriller. Hillier draws the murder story out bit by bit as we watch Geo's story (and Kai's) in the aftermath of her conviction. Fascinating portrayal of life behind bars as well as an empathetic look at being a teenager in an abusive relationship. This book is one you will not soon forget after reading the Epilogue.

Thought this was an amazing first book. . So good. Enjoyed writing and characters and development so very much

Jar of Hearts was a fast-paced, well-written story that was nearly impossible to put down. The characters were quick to inspire the reader's curiosity about their history and the timeline movement within the plot kept the avid thriller reader from focusing and guessing the nature of the character's "crimes". Geo, the female lead, was easy to feel sympathy for despite knowing her character flaws and her remorse for the negative incidents in her past was very believable. Calvin, the suspected serial killer, was extremely disturbing given his "average Joe" description and drew comparison with Ted Bundy in this reader's mind. Overall, the book was a stellar read and another winner from Jennifer Hillier.

OMG! This is truly one of the best books I have read in a long time. The story grabs you on page one and never lets go. It's a good thing I was on vacation because I read it straight through. Geo threw in enough twists and turns that I kept having to go back to see if I had missed a clue! My friends are reading it now. I can't wait to hear their review!

This book hooked me the first page to the last. Excellent psychological thriller. Very surprising conclusion.

Who needs to sleep when you have unread pages of a Jennifer Hillier thriller?!? Work be damned!! I couldn’t stop reading!! It’s been a long time since a thriller/psychological book messed up my mind this much! That’s just was Ms. Hillier did here. There were times throughout Jar if Hearts that I stopped and pondered the difficulty of being a teenager. Other times I rushed through the pages eager for the next word, the next sentence, the next paragraph.

It’s funny how you get to 85% and pieces start to fall into place and you start to put it all together, feverishly excited that you can see the formation of the outcome as she gives us piece by piece of the clues. The buildup of this book was intense. I’m so pleased that I took a chance on this new to me author; it was just what I needed to get me out of a reading funk. Jar of Hearts completely renewed my love for the written word!

I was so pleased with the way Ms. Hillier formed her story, slowly going back and forth between then and now. We learn the story bit by bit. It’s been months, perhaps longer, that a thriller completely blindsided me. Heck, it’s been so long that I’ve read such a daring storyline. I had to stop a few times and clear my mind... the events so horrific that I needed a break! Bravo, Ms. Hillier! I enjoyed this novel immensely and cannot wait to read more from you!

On a side note, as a woman who has had polycystic ovarian syndrome I appreciate the small shot out to the disorder. It isn’t one that gets a lot of recognition and it is needed. This disorder causes so many people so much pain and heartache that this added publicity.

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

I requested this book because murders + hidden childhood secrets always interest me and luckily for me, I was not disappointed.

Jar of Hearts opens with Geo being sentenced to five years of jail for the involvement in the murder of her best friend, Angela. And to be honest, I almost gave up during the section on her years in jail because there was a lot of violence - both sexual and non-sexual.

But if you can get through the prison section to when she gets out, things start to get interesting. Because just before Geo gets out, two bodies turn up near Geo’s home - a mother and child murdered the way Angela was. Kaiser, Angela and Geo’s childhood best friend, is investigating and he quickly confirms that this case is connected to their shared past. I shan’t say anything more about the plot because I might give too much away. But it was really well-paced and I liked how the past informed the present.

Geo was a good protagonist. Even though she did a horrible horrible thing (and didn’t ‘fess up for 14 years), she clearly regrets it. And the more I read about her and Angela’s relationship, the more I saw how complicated it was and even though it doesn’t excuse what she did at all, it did help me to understand her.

On the other hand, I was a bit meh about Kaiser. I thought he had a pretty strong start, but he soon faded away and it felt like his purpose was more for plot than for character. I know him not really changing is his schtick in the book, but he felt a little two-dimensional at times, which is a pity because I thought he was an interesting foil to Geo at first (and would be the childhood friend who’d keep her accountable).

The ending was pretty good. Not something that could be deduced from hints in the book (except for the few chapters before) but everything flowed nicely and it was pretty satisfying. Overall, if you like darker thrillers, you should check this book out. Despite the slightly rough start, I got hooked and flew through the second half because I wanted to find out what happened.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review

Hillier, Jennifer. (2018, June). Jar of Hearts. New York: Macmillan. ISBN: 978-1250154194

So usually I don't rely on what the publisher says about the plot of a book...I think people who can't write annotations (thank you Dr. Latrobe/OU SLIS) are really just lazy.  But this one really appeals to me:

"This is the story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who's been searching for the truth all these years . . ."

The reader knows from the beginning which is which...14 years after Angela Wong, popular high school cheerleader and best friend to Geo and Kaiser disappeared, Kaiser, now a police detective takes Geo in as an accessory to her murder.

I actually find this kind of plot structure very satisfying, sort of like "now you know what happened, we can spend time peeling back the layers and unravelling the threads."  How did the characters get here and what will they do next?  Again I made the mistake of reading other reviews on Goodreads and I see many people find this story grim (it is) and they say one character acts other than their nature at the end.  I would argue with the second point that the action actually shows that the reveal before the last reveal/climax of the book changed that person so that they became something else and now they are again acting on their baser instincts.  I also didn't find Geo as unsympathetic as others.  It struck me that after the murder, she wanted to get caught and thought she would be and when she didn't everything became about survival, about storing up for the future and the day when everything came to light.

While I agree with the reviews below that this is a unique story in many ways, I was reminded of Megan Miranda's All the Missing Girls in that the story of both the past and the present and what happened on that fateful night is unravled slowly and changes as the viewpoint and timeline change.  This book is much more of a thriller in its resolution though.  I think this book, with it's long sections that flash back to the three friends in high school, is a great adult book for teens, as long as the teens can handle the violence (which is not, in my opinion as gruesome as the Chelsea Cain titles the Booklist reviewer compares it with.)

Finally, I posted as I was reading this that I couldn't get the Christina Perri song out of my head.  While that is not what the title is referring to, it does describe in some ways the feeling and tone of the book:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v_4O44sfjM?rel=0]

Review Excerpts:

"Engrossing...there's no denying her page-turner's grab-you-by-the-throat power." ―Publishers Weekly

"There is a dynamite thriller-horror plot pulsing through these pages... Hillier has a Chelsea Cain-like ability to horrify her readers in a way that feels agonizingly real." ―Booklist

"Concise and original...this psychological thriller is unlike any other."―Library Journal

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Jar of Hearts was a thrill ride of a story that is not for the faint of heart. A well written dark and compelling thriller that is sure to have you rapidly turning pages until the final twist is revealed.

Jennifer Hillier is a new author to me, Jar of Hearts releases next week and already its garnered a huge amount of 4/5 star ratings. In terms of anticipation I can see that, I was flipping the pages in my kindle to see what would happen next, trying to figure it out myself. I knew there were twists and turns coming and I was genuinely curious about the outcome. But there were just a few things that bogged me down and the thing is I really cann't say anything more for fear of spoiling someone else's ride. These are things not mentioned in the synopsis but if you are really interested check out this review on Goodreads where I can hide behind the spoiler button.

Having said that I enjoyed how the author went back and forth in time, it was smooth and each tidbit of the past only heightened my curiosity. I found it hard at times to connect with the characters, I just didn’t feel the emotional side of them or understand some of their actions.

Jar of Hearts is a book of secrets, heartache and survival. While it wasn't perfect I would still recommend it to those that like a good mystery.

My thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advance copy. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

I don't even know where to begin with this book. I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. This book is full of twists, turns and a lot of suspense. I highly recommend reading this book. I don't even feel like I can write to much without giving the story away. Do yourself a favor and get to know Geo and Kai!

Brilliantly sick, this one will give you the chills while trying to puzzle out just what happened and what’s happening. Good luck with that.
A full bodied thriller with an engaging plot and characters that you hate to like, but do anyway. It’s fast paced and hooks you from the start, leaving you gasping “OH MY GOD!” by the end.

Jar of Hearts is a fantastic, suspenseful book with plot twists that came out of nowhere. The characters are so well written, and I love the universe that the book is set in. I will definitely read more by this author.

A Jar of Hearts is intense in almost every sense of the meaning. It had me gasping, holding my breath and sometimes gripping my kindle in anticipation of what would happen next. It was, in short, an extreme read.

It was thrilling and horrifying and I never knew what was going to be said or revealed next. It was brutal and raw and even tough to read at times and yet, tough or not, brutal or not, it drew you in and refused to let go. It was like a leech, sucking all the air out of the room until you finished it. Your breath stolen from the horror of what was happening, what was done and what you knew was coming.

Told in parts and alternating between the past and present, it was a train wreck that I couldn't look away from. It was oh so addicting in all the wrong ways and I couldn't help but love it in-spite of all the feels and wrongness of the story unfolding before my very eyes.

It was everything I like in a good mystery and everything I love to hate in a thriller. It truly was a stand out read that is sure to garner a lot of fans and a lot of talk.

Angela was killed and her best friend helped the murderer. For that, Georgina spent 5 years in prison. Ms. Hillier uses this time to develop the characters and slowly reveal what took place that night, and leading up to it. Of course the real action begins right as Geo is released from prison. Suddenly dead bodies are being found, right where Angela had been buried. I really didn't get how everyone made the connection between them and Geo and her ex-boyfriend, the murderer. At first that seemed to be a bit of a leap, except that obviously they would be because this is a story. But I think it should have taken them a bit longer to make the connection. It wasn't long thereafter for me to figure it out. There were still a few surprises, making this an enjoyable read and I did enjoy getting to know the characters and watching Geo evolve.

Jar of Hearts is not my usual read. When it comes to thrillers, I prefer domestic suspense over serial killers, but this book blew me away. It's a shocking, dark story about twisted love, violence and murders that made me gasp at many unpredictable plot twists, and that I found very hard to put down. Jar of Hearts is one of the best thrillers I've read, I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves dark stories. Jennifer Hillier is a very talented writer, I will be checking her other books for sure.

This book was quite the roller coaster ride. We find that Geo, Angela and Kaiser were high school bff's. When the truth is discovered 14 years later as to what actually happened the night Angela disappeared, no one is left the same.

Kaiser is now a police officer who has finally found out what is at least, partially, the truth of what happened that night. Angela's remains have been found and with it her camera. The pictures from her final roll of film help the police to determine who last saw her that night.

Geo now knows that her life as she knows it is over. She has moved on from that night and is engaged to be married. She has climbed the corporate ladder and has achieved a lot of success in her field for a 30=year-old. What no one knows is that she has a dark secret that is going to shed a whole different life on her. Geo takes the downfall with as much grace as she can. She doesn't give any false claims of innocence, just owns up to her part. Kaiser actually respects that. She pays her dues for her crime and tries to move forward after.

It becomes apparent that someone is trying to get her attention. There is a new deadly string of killings and Kaiser is back in her life trying to figure out what is going on. Geo is keeping a secret and it is a twisted tale that is weaved throughout this story. The plot was quite interesting and Jennifer Hillier did a good job of keeping me guessing. It was quite the thriller and I riveted to the end. The epilogue left some unanswered questions for me, but overall a great read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.